Quick-change internal structure for handbags



w. l|3.i1o| l5|-1 QUICK'CHANGE4 INTERNAL STRUCTURE FOR HA'NDBGS' FiledNov. 15,'1 945 lINVENTOR lee/eflden ATTORNEYS :Mll 111|. nl!" E 1ioMarch 15, 1949.

Patented Mar. 15, 1949 UNITED .STAI'JESTI @HECK- CHANGE 'INTERNALSTRUCTURE f FQR'HAINlDBlMSrS 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a quick-change bag insert and moreparticularly to an insert for a ladys handbag or similar bag which isprovided with a plurality of article holdingpockets or recesses yandwhich can be quickly transferred to other bags with its containedVarticles without the necessity of individually transferring sucharticles.

In Vaccordance with the present invention, a unitary compact insertmember is provided with a plurality of article receiving pockets and isadapted to be placed within the interior oi-a container such as a ladyshandbag. The insert may be constructed of ilexible material such asfabric and be provided with stiening elements covered by the flexiblematerial to lhold the insert in definite position in the bag so that thepockets therein areV positioned ior the reception and WithdraWal ofarticles usuallycarried in such bags.

The articles held in the insert can each have its individual position sothat it can bereadily located and provision is also made for retainingmiscellaneous, loose articles within the confines of the insert.

bagfitself so that it maybe easily removed and placed in another similarhandbag. That is to say, the owner may have a series of handbags ofapproximately the same site but of different colors and designs, forexample, to match dii ferent costumes. The insert with its containedarticles may be quickly changed from one of such handbags te anotherwithoutindividually transferring -various articles. In the preferredconstruction of the insert provision is made for easily removing thestiiening members tolenable cleaning of the flexible material oi theinsert, such as by laundering or dry cleaning.

It is therefore an object of .the invention to provide a quick-changebaginsert for handbags or other containers which has provision forretaining various articles in deiinite position and which may be quicklytransferred along with its contained articles from one handbaer toanother.

Another object of the invention is to provide a quick-change bag insertprovided with a plurality of pockets for various articles and which isprovided with stiiening members for holding the insert in a definiteposition in the handbag.

A further object of the invention is to provide an insert for ladieshandbags or the like constructed of flexible material mounted uponstiffening members and arranged for easy removal of the stiiieningmembers to provide for cleaning of the insert.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in thefollowing description of a. preferred embodiment thereofl shown in theattached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an isometric View in vertical section through a handbagcontaining the insert of the present invention With parts broken away;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary horizontal section through one end of thehandbag and insert and i taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a plan View of the flexible portion of the insert before ithas been edge seamed to receive the .stiiening members.

Referring to the drawings, the insert may include a body portion i'preferably made of a single piece of flexible material and having aplurality oi' side wall sections il, l2,v I3 and M. The side Wallsections l! and i2 maybe-folded toward each other along a line i6indicated by i--dot line in Figure 3 and may have their edges stitchedtogether as indicated at I 1 in Figure 2 to form a pocket for receivinga stiiening member i8. Similarly, the side wall sections !3 and ifi maybe folded toward each other The insert is entirely separate from thehand.. ."'y along a line indicated bi" the @25h-dot line i9 in Figure 3and have their edges stitched together as indicated at 2i in Figure 2 toform a pocket for receiving a stiiening member 22. Upon in sorting thestiening members in their respective pockets and folding the bodyportion I0 along he fold lines 23 and 2li indicated by dash-dot lines inFigure 3, the stiffening members I3 and 22 will be substantiallyparallel to each other as shown in Figure 1 to form a U-shaped insertwhen the handbag is closed which insert will open to an approximate Vwhen the bag is opened. The end portions .2li and 27 of the body portionil) may be overlapped ee shown in Figure 1 and be vsecured togeti anydesired manner, for example, by stitching or by the snap fasteners 23indicated in ligure 3.

One or more pockets forming members such as the members 29 and 3i may besuitably secured to the side wall portion i l of the body member it, forexample, by stitching 32 as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3.Either or both oi these members may be divided into a plurality ofpockets by intermediate stitching to the side Wall member ll asindicated by the dotted lines 33 of Figure 3. Similar pocket members 3i,36 and 3l may be secured to the side wall sections l2, I3 and M,respectively, of the exible body member Il? to form pockets upon each ofthese sections, the latter section preferably having a second pocketmember 38 stitched thereto. As shown in Figures 1 and 3, certain of thepocket members may overlap other pocket members, for example, the pocketmember 29 may overlap the pocket member 3| and the pocket member 38 mayoverlap the Vpocket member 31.

The entire insert may be constructed to have any suitable dimensions toenable it to be positioned within any suitable type of handbag, forexample, a handbag having a flexible body portion 38 and a top closurestructure including members 4I and 42. The insert is entirely free ofthe structure of the handbag and may be removed and inserted as a unitso as to be capable of being transferred from one bag to another alongwith any articles contained in the pockets thereof. 1t will also beapparent that the insert provides a central space i3 for miscellaneousarticles in addition to those contained in the various individualpockets, these miscellaneous articles also being carried by the insertwhen it is transferred from one bag to another. Also, upon removal ofthe insert fromthe bag, the overlapping end portions 26 and 2 of thebody portion lil can be separated so that the stifening members i8 and22 can be withdrawn to enable the flexible portion of the insert to belaundered or otherwise cleaned without damage to the stiffening members.These stiffening members may be of any suitable material, vfor example,sheet material such as cardboard. ber board or light metal, or may be awire framework or metal screen, etc.

The insert above described enables all of articles usually carried insuch a g to have a definite place thus avoiding scar ching through thehandbag for a desired article. iny suitable arrangement of pockets mayempioyed, but for purposes of illustration only, the pocket A maycontain a toothbrush in its case and a comb and the pockets B, C, D, E,F, G and P'. may contain soap, aspirin, lipstick, perfume, compact,matches and a carton of tooth powder, respectively. Similarly, thepockets I, J K, L, M and N may contain an identification card, pencil,pen, darning tube, key case for extra keys and diary, respectively.Also, the pockets O, P, Q, R and S may contain a coin purse, band-aids,apartment key, car keys, and glasses, respectively. 1n the same manner,the pockets T, U and V may contain a cigarette case, ration and bankbooks, and

individual powder puifs, respectively, while the pocket W may containletters, road maps, address books, etc. As stated above, miscellaneousarticles not adapted for insertion in any of the pockets may be placedin the space i3 between the pocket members 3d and 88. Although theinsert chosen for illustration is rectangular in shape so as to fitsubstantially rectangular handbags, it is apparent that the body memberand stiifening members of the insert may be of any suitable conformationand dimension so as to fit bags of different sizes and shapes, forexample, square bags,

round bags, triangular bags, etc., without departing from the essentialsof the present invention.

While I have disclosed the preferred embodiment of my invention, it isunderstood that the details thereof may be varied within the scope ofthe following claims.

I claim:

1. A quick-change bag insert comprising a substantially rectangular bodymember formed of flexible material, said body member having its endportions folded toward the center of said body member and securedthereto along the edges of said body member to form open pockets, astiffening member removably positioned in each of said pockets wherebysaid body member may be folded about its center portion to formupstanding side members, means for releasably closing said pockets forholding said stilfening elements therein while providing for removal 0fsaid stiffening elements to enable cleaning of said body member, saidside members having elements of flexible material secured to the exposedsurfaces of said body member to form a plurality of external pockets forreceiving articles to be carried in said bag, said insert being shapedto be received within a handbag while carrying said articles and beingtransferable with its contained articles from one handbag to another.

2. A quick-change bag insert comprising a substantially rectangular bodymember formed of fiexible material, said body member having its endportions folded tow-ard the center of said body member and securedthereto along the side edges of said body member-to form open pockets, astiifening member removably positioned in each of said pockets wherebysaid body member may be folded about its center portion to formupstanding side members, said side members having elements of flexiblematerial secured to the exposed surfaces of said body member to form aplurality of pockets for receiving articles to be carried in said bag,said insert being shaped to be received within a handbag while carryingsaid articles and being transferable with its contained articles fromone handbag to another.

WINNIE BELLE HOLDEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,081,788 Terry Dec. 16, 19131,251,404 Mills Dec. 25, 1917 1,558,213 Atkins Oct. 20, 1925 2,104,439Schein Jan. 4, 1938 2,183,428 McNary Dec. 12, 1939 2,311,847 Long Feb.23, 1943 2,335,898 Arnold Dec. 7, 1943

